September 30, 2011

Indy Car’s Al, Jr. Falls Off The Wagon Again

It is a real bummer when the Indy Car hero of an entire generation of racing fans takes another turn for the stupid. Whether or not alcoholism is a disease or not is a discussion for another forum. The fact that Al, Jr. allegedly got liquored up X2 then not just drove but RACED on a city street goes well beyond foolish.

It is disappointing to realize that all that happy horsesh!t he recently spouted about being clean, sober and close to the Lord who was guiding his path is a fairytale. How many chances at redemption should a recidivist get? As an active Indy Car employee engaged in driver coaching, two-seater driving and race control yes-man’ing the timing of this latest wagon fall is quite unfortunate. Wonder what triggered it this time?

As a lifelong racing fan I love the entire quirky Unser family, warts and all. They are originals, and they own (in a manner of speaking) both Indy and Pikes Peak. This demon with which Al, Jr. is dealing looks like it could easily kill him, perhaps either by liver failure or telephone pole wraparound. Either fate would be unfortunate.

It is the sincere hope of all real racing fans that little Al wins the most important race of his career…the one against self destruction which has begun to lap him.

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First read about this in the Indy Star. Having battled that demon (and continuing to,) I know just how easy it is to slip. I was amazed that some of the trolls on their site were so snarky about what is a life-threatening relapse. Every alcoholic needs his own personal reason for abstaining. I only hope that Mr. Unser finds his.

I understand that alcoholism is a disease; I have friends and family members who battle it everyday, and I know full well they are just one drink away from giving the demon a foothold. I truly sympathize with those who have to fight this fight, and I sincerely hope that they can continue to control their own demons and keep their lives on track.

That being said, my sympathy for Mr. Unser ended when he got behind the wheel of a car and started it up. Burying four friends that you’d known since kindergarten who didn’t finish high school with you because they were killed by a drunk driver inures you with a certain callousness towards people who drink and drive.